Office furniture and tables



March 968 R. VINCENS 3,371,973

OFFICE FURNITURE AND TABLES Filed Aug. 1, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 fly]March 5, 1968 R. VINCENS 3,371,973

OFFICE FURNITURE AND TABLES Filed Aug. 1, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 UnitedStates Patent Ofifice 3,371,973 Patented Mar. 5, 1968 ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE An article of metallic office furniture comprises two rigidleg-forming frames of inverted U-shape, a top recurred to the baseportions of the frames, two intermediate U-shaped frames which havetheir base portions recurred to the top and are similar and parallel tothe leg-forming frames but have shorter legs, and cabinets carried bycooperating support elements on the legs of the leg-for ming frames andof the intermediate frames.

Olfice furniture, notably metal desks, are constructed as a rule fromstandard elements comprising a plate constituting the working surface ortop, secured to one or two cabinets adapted to be equipped with drawers.These cabinets constitute the support, legs or bases of the desk and maybear directly on the floor, but in most instances they are equipped withlegs extending along their vertical edges or depending from their lowerfaces. These cabinets are mounted to the end of the desk plate or topand may be interconnected by a vertical metal plate constituting theback or bottom panel of the desk.

The stability of these desks depends on the rigidity of the two cabinetsfor all the efforts exerted on the top are transmitted to the legsthrough their intermediary. Therefore, these cabinets must have aconsiderable rigidity and be designed with a view to withstand withoutany appreciable distortion all the stress applied to the top.

It is advantageous to have the possibility of constructing differentcombinations of ofiice furniture from these standard cabinets bycombining them in different ways and fitting them according torequirements as filingcabinets, boxes, card-index cabinet, etc. However,the standardization of these cabinets is rather difficult for theirmechanical characteristics depend on the actual function contemplatedtherefor; thus, not-ably, in an office desk the cabinets must beperfectly rigid, as explained hereinabove, whereas this property is onlysecondary in the case of furniture intended only for storing and filingpurposes.

The desks and tables have also common elements like the top and legs.The standardization of top does not constitute a major difficulty initself, and nearly all manufacturers have succeeded in this field. Onthe other hand the problem of legs is considerably more complicated forthe stability of any furniture must be exactly the same in the case of aknee-hole writing table, of a single cabinet desk, or of a table.However, it may be noted that it is not always easy to manufacture topshaving a great rigidity both longitudinally and transversely.

It is the essential object of the present invention to provide aspecific leg mounting permitting the use of cabinets having a rigidityinferior to usually recommended standards, these cabinets ensuring atransverse stiffening of the tops, and being adapted to be mountedindiiferently on a desk cabinet, on a panel with legs, or to act as aleg unit or assembly in an ordinary table, while giving a particularlypleasant line or appearance to furniture constructed according to theteachings of the present invention.

Therefore, the present invention has for its object a desk or tableconsisting preferably of metal elements characterized in that the legsystem consists of two extremely rigid frames or straps having the shapeof an inverted U, the central portion of the U being secured to theunderface of the desk top while the side members of the U constitute thelegs proper.

The desks equipped with cabinets are also characterized in that saidcabinets are attached to the legs and independent of the top.

Two similar intermediate frames, of which the legs may have for instancethe same height as the cabinet to be housed therebetween are alsosecured under the top in planes parallel to each other and to those ofsaid legs,

with a relative spacing corresponding to the width of the cabinets to befitted.

Each cabinet is suspended on one side from the desk legs and on theopposite side from the intermediate frames. These frames areadvantageously of the type described in the French Patent No. 1,364,089,filed by the same applicant on May 8, 1963, that is, consisting of twometal channels fitted in each other so as to constitute a rigidsquare-sectioned tube. According to a first form of embodiment, the twoframes of each cabinet are braced by two trays disposed horizontally andhaving a suflicient relative spacing to permit the insertion of thecabinet therebetween. The upper tray is preferably somewhat spaced fromthe desk top in order to provide between this top and the 'upper tray afree space permitting the stowing of files and various documents duringthe work, notably when the top is already encumbered with papers.

According to another form of embodiment, the cabinet is attacheddirectly by one of itssides to the legs and by its opposite side to thestrap. The upper surface of this cabinet is disposed as in the firstform of embodiment at a certain vertical distance from the top plate.

The mounting of a panel with legs is carried out by suspending a flatcaisson to the leg unit and possibly a strap on the other side of thecaisson.

To obtain a desk it is only necessary to mount a leg unit at each end ofa top. These leg units themselves may be stiffened by means of strapsbearing on the one hand on each leg and on the other hand on the top.

A desk or table thus obtained has a particularly pleasant appearance dueto the alternation of the plane surfaces of the cabinets and back or:bottom panel with the vertical lines of the leg units and straps. Theplane surfaces may be painted or lined with plastic material, and thestraps and leg units may be covered with a metallized or adequatelycoloured ornamental element.

In order to afford a clearer understanding of the present invention andof the manner in which the same may be carried out in practice, atypical form of embodiment of the mounting constituting thesubject-matter thereof will now be described with reference to theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of an office desk;

FIGURE 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the mounting of acabinet on the leg unit of one of the desk sides;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the mounting of apanel with legs.

The metal desk illustrated in the drawing is of the so-called knee-holewriting table type, in that it comprises under its top 1 two cabinets 2equipped as usual with drawers.

According to the present invention, these cabinets, instead of beingsecured directly to the underface of the top plate are suspended fromthe leg units of the desk.

These leg units consist of two similar and very rigid frames 3 havingthe shape of an inverted U, each frame having its central portion 4secured under the top 1 and the two side members 5 acting as the legsproper. Two similar intermediate U-shaped frames 6, of which the legs 97 have a length corresponding substantially to the height of the cabinetto be fitted, are also secured under the top 1 in planes parallel toeach other and to the leg plane, with a relative spacing correspondingof course to the width of the cabinet to be fitted.

The two frames 3 and 6 of each cabinet are braced by means of a pair oftrays 8 and 9 disposed horizontally and sufficiently spaced from eachother to permit the insertion of the corresponding cabinet 2therebetween, the latter being subsequently fastened in position throughany suitable means. The trays 8 and 9 are anchored to the legs 5 and 7of the two frames, preferably as described in the aforesaid Frenchpatent of the applicant, No. 1,364,- 089, that is, by utilizing acombination of catches 1t and recesses 11, or screws 12, a bottom orback panel 13 being interposed if desired between the two intermediateframes 6 by simply suspending them behind their rear legs. The uppertray 9 is fastened to the legs 5 and 7 of the two frames and somewhatspaced from the tops 1 so as to form therebetween a free gap forincreasing the surface area available for stowing documents, etc.

Of course, although the trays 8 and 9 are shown as being somewhat spacedfrom the cabinet 2, they might also be secured thereto in a permanentmanner before mounting the straps and leg units. The cabinet itself maybe provided with recesses 11 and adapted to be secured by means ofscrews.

FIGURE 3 illustrates the mounting of a panel with legs 3 consistingessentially of a small flat caisson 14 secured to the leg units asdescribed hereinabove in the same manner as the cabinets, that is, atits upper portion by means on the one hand of lugs carried by the legsand, on the other hand of recesses 11 formed in the caisson, and at itsbottom by means of screws 18. The back panel 19 is secured to thecaisson proper.

Of course, many modifications may be brought to the specific form ofembodiment described and illustrated herein, without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. An article of metallic office furniture comprising two rigidleg-forming frames of inverted U-shape, a horizontal top secured to thebase portions of said frames, two similar but shorter U-shapedintermediate frames the bases of which are fixed to the underside ofsaid top and which lie in planes parallel to the leg-forming frames, thelimbs of said U-shaped leg-forming frames and the limbs of saidintermediate U-shaped frames being provided with cooperating supportelements and cabinets supported by said support elements beneath saidtop and independently of it.

2. An article of office furniture according to claim 1, wherein thesupport elements consist for each cabinet of two trays extendinghorizontally from the leg-forming frames and spaced one over the otheradapted to permit the sliding insertion of the cabinet therebetween.

3. An article of office furniture according to claim 2, wherein eachupper tray is attached to a leg-forming frame at a predetermineddistance from the underside of the top and adapted to leave a free spacebetween the upper tray and the underside of the top.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,821,450 1/1958 Knoll 312 X2,822,228 2/1958 Comer 248-188 2,915,351 12/1959 Shinn 312-195 2,973,2322/1961 Knoll 312-194 X 2,987,362 6/1961 Bernath 312195 X 3,125,3873/1964 Abrahamson 312257 X CASMIR A. NUNBERG, Primary Examiner.

